Douglas Kennedy Acquitted Of Charges In Hospital Tussle

Douglas Kennedy, youngest son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was acquitted Tuesday of criminal charges that stemmed from a Jan. 7 incident on the maternity ward at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco.
Photo Credit: New York Daily News

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MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. — Douglas Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, has been acquitted of child endangerment and harassment charges in a case that stemmed from a
Jan. 7 incident
at Mount Kisco's Northern Westchester Hospital.

Hospital nurses Cari Luciano and Anna Lane said they were attempting to prevent Kennedy from leaving the maternity ward with his 2-day-old son, Bo, after Kennedy reportedly told hospital staff that he wanted to take the baby outside for "fresh air."

The nurses testified that Kennedy twisted Lane’s arm as she held the doorknob to a stairwell, then kicked Luciano in the groin as she reached toward the baby.

Mount Kisco Justice John Donahue found Kennedy not guilty on Tuesday.
During the nonjury trial
, which began on Oct. 22 and lasted for five days of testimony, the prosecution tried to prove Kennedy was guilty of two counts of harassment, a violation, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

During the trial, the defense attempted to paint the nurses as calculating opportunists who were trying to set up a chance to win cash in a civil lawsuit.